Introduction
The word Tense is a term in English grammar and refers to a form of the verb that indicates time. Time is a universal, non-linguistic concept with three divisions - Past, Present and Future; by tense, we understand the correspondence between the form of the verb and our concept of time. When making a statement it is essential to indicate whether a situation exists now, existed in the past or is likely to exist in the future.
The past perfect tense is used to indicate that an action has been completed before another action. In the past perfect tense, we use a form of the verb "had" along with the past participle of the main verb. The action that is completed before another action is always in the past perfect tense, and the action that is the main focus of the sentence is always in the past simple tense.
Past Perfect Tense - Rules and Examples
✅ Rule 1
Past Perfect is used wherever we wish to say that an action had been completed before another commenced. The past of the sentence expressing the previous action is put into Past Perfect and the part of the sentence expressing subsequent action is put into Past Indefinite (Simple Past); as
- The ship was sunk by a storm which had suddenly sprung up.
- Monu had been ill for two days when the doctor was sent for her.
✅ Rule 2
Past Perfect tense is used after - I wish, He/She wishes, they wish, as though, as if etc.; as,
- I wish I had been born in London.
- She talks to me as if she had come from the USA.
✅ Rule 3
If some action was hoped in the past but was not completed, we use words like - hope, think, expect, mean, intend, want, suppose etc. In such a situation, both clauses of the sentence will be in Simple Past tense; as,
- I had wanted to meet him but unfortunately, I fell ill.
- I had hoped that he would come to attend my party.
✅ Affirmative Sentences
Pattern:
➤ Subject + had + verb (IIIrd form) + O/A.
- She had seen the Taj Mahal.
- The patient had died before the doctor came.
- The Train had left before I reached the station.
- The peon rang the bell after we had reached school.
✅ Negative Sentences
Pattern:
➤ Subject + had not + verb (IIIrd verb) + O/A.
- I had not seen the Red Fort.
- She had not completed her homework.
- The patient had not died before the doctor came.
- The farmers had not ploughed their fields before it rained.
✅ Interrogative Sentences
Pattern:
➤ Had + subject + verb (IIIrd form) + O/A?
➤ Q.W. + Had + subject + verb (IIIrd form) + O/A?
- Had you seen the Taj Mahal?
- Had you reached the school before the bell rang?
- Why had he not finished his work before the teacher came?
✅ Adverbials
➤ Before, after